“I started to see what it actually meant to ‘listen’ to my body.” ~Alyssia Sheikh TAKING ACTION: ✅ Do you know yourself to be an emotional eater? Have you ever really tried to understand what’s going on, if that’s the case? How willing are you to do what it takes to understand your eating patterns? We’re working on understanding what it means to eat mindfully—not just eat mindfully, but to live mindfully. We often forget that the brain and body are connected. Oftentimes, we eat not because we’re hungry but because of our emotions. The problem is that many people aren’t in touch with their emotions, much less understand them. If you struggle with eating when you aren’t hungry, this topic is important to at least consider ⬇️ You must get to know yourself and become aware of your habits or patterns. 💯 Mindfulness around your eating habits (or any of your habits for that matter) isn’t woo-woo. It’s understanding yourself on a deeper level. I can’t be sure, but I think we’d all like to understand ourselves better because in doing so, we’re able to make better decisions, create healthier relationships, and move closer to the person we’d ultimately like to become! 📌It’s important to note that mindful eating doesn’t mean that tracking your macros is discouraged. It isn’t one or the other. It can be both—and when we practice both, we reach our goals and discover more about ourselves! It’s a winning combination! 🎉 Speaking of mindfulness, check out the mindful eating recipe blog below! Mind Over Munch | Mindful Eating & Healthy Recipes

He wasn’t told to go, he didn’t ask to go. He just got up and went to the alter all on his own. We are so beyond proud 🥹 😭♥️ Hallelujah 🙌

“Conscious eating is a big step toward conscious living.” ~Natasha Pantovic TAKING ACTION: ✅ We talked about metabolism last week, and this week is all about mindful eating. Do you struggle with mindful eating? Does the term feel confusing for you? If so, this week is going to help! I think we can all agree—the holidays are in full swing! From here on out, there’s no escaping the holiday gatherings and parties. If I had to guess, most of us have at least one dinner, work party, or other event every week for the rest of the month. The goal isn’t to miss out on such special events that only happen once per year, but to learn how to navigate them well. So, how do you do this? While there are several practical tips we’ll talk about this week, the truth is that it starts with awareness. It starts with mindfulness. We hear this all the time, but do we really understand what it means? That’s what this week is all about, friends. We must understand this at a deeper level if we desire to act it out. 💯 The good news is that, as the quote above states, if you can master conscious eating, your journey toward conscious living will come a lot easier! Think about it—eating is often one of our biggest struggles. If we can learn how to eat mindfully, we can use the same fundamental ideas to live mindfully—and the holidays are the perfect time to live mindfully. What better time to be fully present, soak in the moments, and make memories that will last a lifetime?! ✨

TAKING ACTION: ✅Do you struggle with sleep (quality or quantity) during the holiday season? If you want your metabolism to work best for you, I encourage you to make it a priority this season! ✅As always, share your weekly wins below! Let’s celebrate! 🎉 Okay, okay, I know it’s Friday and we’re used to having loads of celebratory fun on Fridays 😉; however, I’d be remiss if I didn’t talk about this subject—how your sleep affects your metabolism. Since the holiday season often brings along late nights and a lack of sleep, it’s something we need to talk about. We’re still going to celebrate—after we talk about sleep and metabolism. 😉 If you’ve been around long enough, you already know that sleep is high on the totem pole when it comes to your ability to burn fat. It’s critical when it comes to your health and fat loss journey, and a lack of sleep negatively affects your metabolism in the following ways: 😴 Your basal metabolic rate is affected by your thyroid hormones. Without getting too science-y 🤓, your thyroid is responsible for hormones that boost metabolic rate. Sleep affects your thyroid and its hormones. In short, poor sleep can lead to poor thyroid health. Poor thyroid health leads to poor metabolism. 😴 A lack of sleep also negatively affects metabolic function by altering the way your body processes glucose. When you’re sleep deprived, it is difficult for your body to regulate blood sugar, which in turn negatively impacts your metabolism. The research regarding metabolism and sleep is ongoing, but what I know for sure is that sleep is of the utmost importance. It affects our hunger/satiety hormones (leptin and ghrelin), as well as our stress hormone (cortisol). All of these impact our ability to burn fat, so at the end of the day, get more sleep this season if you can. 😉 🎉 Friday Fun Fact: Humans are the ONLY mammals willing to delay sleep. All other mammals and animals seem to be a little wiser than us when it comes to honoring sleep. No wonder humans are so stressed!

“Understanding our relationship to eating cultivates a lot of insights and helps us start living our highest potential.” ~Natasha Pantovic TAKING ACTION: ✅ Comment MINDFUL below if you’re excited about learning more about mindful eating next week! This topic is going to be so beneficial during the holiday season! We’ve had a big week, friends, as we’ve discussed why the holidays are a great time to focus on amping up your metabolism so that it can work most efficiently for you. Your metabolism is responsible for many things, but the reality is that if it doesn’t have enough food (energy) or muscle mass, its role in burning fat is put on the back burner. That’s why utilizing this time (when you most likely will consume more food overall) is great for focusing on maintenance or even a small surplus. If you do it correctly, don’t worry—you won’t gain much fat (if any). With that said, focusing on lifting heavier and building muscle during this time is also an important piece of the puzzle. If you’re going to take advantage of eating more, make sure you’re putting that energy to good use by challenging yourself in the gym. Again, food and muscle tissue are both important when it comes to having an optimal fat-burning metabolism. 💯 As I mentioned earlier in the week, we’re also going to talk about another important topic starting tomorrow—and that’s mindful eating.